The Forest Bathing Club philosophy is a combination of design, mindfulness, meditation and getting wild.

OUR mission

We imagine a world where everyone is able to tap into nature as the greatest source of energy and inspiration. We exist to enable people to reconnect to nature as a way to heal — themselves, their communities, and the planet.

Our commitment to inspiring people to heal themselves and the planet as well as a complete reverence for nature informs everything we do.

Background

The Forest Bathing Club was founded in San Francisco, California. We regularly host forest baths around the Bay Area. We also offer immersive weeklong transformational nature experiences in magical places around the world and a month-long nature-purpose alignment accelerator for entrepreneurs.

Forest Bathing comes from the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, which means “luxuriating in the forest.” This practice of mindfulness in nature emerged in the 1980s and has been scientifically proven to lower heart rate and blood pressure, reduce stress hormones, boost the immune system, and improve overall feelings of wellbeing.

A Japanese study from 2011 found that leisurely forest walks, compared with urban walks, yield a 12.4 percent decrease in cortisol levels, a seven percent decrease in sympathetic nerve activity, a 1.4 percent decrease in blood pressure, and a 5.8 percent decrease in heart rate. Perhaps even more importantly, being in the forest soothes the spirit and inspires feelings of awe, both of which are linked to markers of good health and lead to more tranquility and balance — for individuals and the planet at large.

Going into nature is not just about disconnecting from all the technology and noise of modern life, but is also about reconnecting to something so much bigger than ourselves. When we get rid of all the distractions, we’re able to tune into a deeper wisdom. This deeper wisdom — our intuition, nature, the universe — always has the message each of us need to hear. As we learn to translate the messages and integrate them into our lives, we’re able to tune in to our own wild nature as well as the planet.

We spend so much of our lives feeling stressed or anxious. When we are able to get out our heads and fully relax in the forest, a certain magic happens that can’t be put into words. It’s a feeling that must be experienced.